Parade

Ask Marilyn: Which Way is Up, Anyway?

Edward Hudson of Tulsa, Oklahoma, writes:

Marilyn: Why don't residents of the southern hemisphere manufacture globes with the southern hemisphere on top? In the universe, up and down are arbitrary and only really refer to the earth's surface and the gravitational pull toward it. A globe with Australia and South America on the top makes as much sense as the other way around. Marilyn responds:

Because it's more productive and convenient to have standards that everyone in the world uses. That's the reason for universal time zones, map coordinates, and much more.